Shining - Lots of girls gonna get hurt

Shining, the Swedish Black Metal band founded and fronted by Niklas Kvarforth, are releasing a 4 track EP of cover versions. Shining – whose last studio album ‘VII: Född Förlorare’ (‘Born Loser’) was released through Spinefarm in May 2011 – are planning UK dates for the autumn.

“In no way should this EP be seen as a new direction for Shining,” says Kvarforth. “It is absolutely no indication of what you can expect from our forthcoming eighth studio album. Like most musicians, neither myself, nor the rest of the band, restricts ourselves to listening to only one genre of music.

“We all have eclectic tastes, and finding ourselves with spare time in the studio, we recorded a total of six covers, and decided to release four of them. This EP simply represents some of the artists and the music that we like. We know that those fans of Shining who limit themselves to a narrow musical spectrum will hate the record, but that really is of no concern to us.”

As Niklas Kvarforth says, it's a release likely to divide fans - this is certainly not what fans will be expecting when they hear that there is a new release from the band, but on the other hand if it helps broaden the musical horizons of some fans then it can only be a good thing. Most bands I speak to actually listen to a very broad spectrum of music rather than just the genre that they play, yet some fans choose to limit themselves and miss out on some great music as a result.

So what have we got on the EP? Covers by Katatonia, Kent, Imperiet and Poets of the fall.

The first one, "For my demons" is a great Katatonia cover and its got enough heaviness to keep many fans happy. My only niggle with it is the way the song seems to cut off quite suddenly at the end - it just doesnt feel quite right.

"Utan Dina Andetag" is a slower softer song - very ballad-like, but given that I don't speak Swedish then I can't tell you if it is actually a ballad or if it just sounds like one.

"Kung Av Jidder" picks up the pace again, but it's still not that heavy. It feels to me like a slightly heavier version of Simple Minds, particularly with the vocals.

"Carnival of Rust" opens with some acoustic guitar and soft vocals before becoming rockier as the song progresses.

I definitely enjoyed this release - yes it's very different from their usual releases, but it does allow the band to have fun and show that their talents are more versatile than Black Metal musicians are sometimes given credit for.

If you're a closed minded fan who only listens to Black Metal then this is not the release for you. If however you're open minded enough to listen to different types of music then the chances are you'll enjoy this EP.

"Lots of girls gonna get hurt" will be released on 20th August 2012 via Spinefarm records